Bourse’s bull run is not running out of steam

Seoul’s main bourse Kospi ended at an all-time high on Monday of 2,598.19, after breaking the 2,600 threshold for the first time in history. The secondary tech-centered Kosdaq rose by 1.53 percent to 927.05 percent on a four-day rally.

The benchmark Kospi rose 23.43 points, or 0.91 percent, to close at 2,598.19 on the back of strong U.S. stock markets, with improved performances by U.S. companies. A strong global economic outlook also led institutional and foreign investors to scoop up local shares on three consecutive trading days, contributing to the record-high closing for the Kospi.

Shares of pharmaceutical companies gained ground, with Samsung BioLogics, a biopharmaceutical affiliate of Samsung Group, up 5.14 percent to end at 439,500 won.

The secondary Kosdaq rose consecutively for the fifth session, closing Monday at 927.05, up 13.93 points or 1.53 percent from Friday, boosted by strong performances by pharmaceutical and IT companies and semiconductor chip makers.

Celltrion advanced 9.43 percent to 328,300 won.

The local currency closed at 1,065.60 won against the U.S. dollar, down 1.7 won from the previous session’s close.

The yield on three-year bonds added 5.9 basis points to 2.28 percent, and the return on the 10-year bond rose 4.5 basis points to 2.66 percent.